Arguments
by creepyhippieguy
Summary: He supposed that compared to his usual day this might be a tad bit more interesting. After all, arguments make the best conversations. ShinreiYuya
1. Chapter 1

**Arguments**

**_Author(s): creepyhippieguy_**

**Disclaimer: **We do not own Samurai Deeper Kyo!

**A/N: **We decided to do this fic in honor of Shinrei's birthday (Feb. 14th for those who don't know). This is the first fic of a series that we will be doing based on the theme _Sake and a Kiss_. In case you were wondering, we are foxmagic and mickey-sin when we are separate; joining forces we are known as creepyhippieguy! (which is our nickname for Chinmei). We fight for the good of all things, blah blah, etc etc. Also, please note that this story will be slightly AU, since we are going to simply assume that Shinrei and Yuya know each other, without making anything post-series. I suppose we'll ignore any allusion to the water dragon just to be on the cautious side.

"Talking"

_Thoughts…_

(Subliminal messaging)

;-

**Chapter One: Where Shinrei gets a clue**

;-

Hotaru sat on the ledge of a room's balcony. He wasn't quite sure whose room the balcony was part of, but it didn't matter. What mattered was he was content, for the moment anyways. Soon Shinrei would come to disturb him for some stupid stuff; like a meeting or training or whatever he was forgetting at the moment.

Choosing to lose those thoughts like he usually did, he turned his attention to the sky. The clouds were moving at a steady pace, no hints of rain or poor weather anyway he looked at it. He loved days like these –days with no rain. Why? Well because he hated rain, of course. It made his clothes, along with his hair, cold, wet, and sticky…which did nothing but irritate him.

Finding the sky no longer interesting, he looked below him to the people wandering around the lower Mibu village. He was thinking of lying down to take a nap, that is, until he saw the usual source of his irritation glaring up at him. _Damn._ Shinrei had found him, and he looked pissed. Not that Hotaru cared; he could take that idiot on any day. He looked around for a possible escape route to go take a nap, and then glanced back down to see if Shinrei was still there…

…Nope. Knowing from plenty of experience that he didn't have much time, Hotaru climbed off the ledge and walked back through the room. He would just go for a walk in the woods to find a place to nap. Shinrei could go to hell for all he cared, 14 hours or so of sleep was much better than a 14 hour long lecture that he didn't listen to anyway…

;-

He was pissed. No, it went way beyond pissed. Shinrei was now in 'I'm going to rip your heart out through your throat' mode. Why couldn't that idiot take anything seriously? Always napping and eating and sleeping...and napping…

Rubbing his head in exasperation, Shinrei tried to get a grip on his slowly-deteriorating thought process. If anyone could kill brain cells, it was Hotaru. Even if they weren't his own.

Shinrei had quickly followed an escaping Hotaru through the Mibu village, and out past the gates which guarded their home. After much walking, of which he found to be much more strenuous than originally planned, he happened upon a thriving town only a few more miles up the road. With much effort, Shinrei suppressed a groan of dissatisfaction. Shuffling through a crowd of bustling people was something he did _not_ want to do.

The angry words of his superiors suddenly found their way into his mind.

"_Get. Keikoku. NOW!"_

That, partnered with a particularly lovely image (of which he'd rather forget), forced him into movement once more.

Oblivious to Shinrei, his thoughts of destruction, and all the pain that this incident would most likely cause...

Hotaru napped.

;-

At least 20 villagers, so far, have had to jump out of the path of a very enraged bounty huntress by the name of Shiina Yuya. To say that she was walking down the street with a big smile and controlled and graceful footsteps would be like saying Okuni was a virgin. She was stomping down the street with enough force under her feet to start an earthquake, fire in her eyes that could cause anyone to spontaneously burst into flames on the spot and she was still clutching her gun in her hand.

"Maybe I should get some random person to piss in the jerks sake! That'll teach him to send me to get it all the time! He could at least pay for it him damn self! One day I'm gonna, I'm gonna... ARGH! I HATE HIM!"

Yuya had been mumbling angrily to herself until the "I hate him" comment and now she had the small section of the town she was in at a complete stand still as everyone now stared at her wide eyed. Ignoring the onlookers completely, Yuya continued to stomp and curse all the way into the store.

;-

"It's_ how_ much!" Yuya shouted to the defenseless shop keeper as she placed (more like slammed) the sake jugs onto the counter.

"Three bottles comes to... (Random outrageous price of which we cannot name)." Before the man had time to blink Yuya had the gun pointed at his head.

;-

He could sense that bastard. He was there somewhere, taunting him.

Shinrei glanced around as he made his way through the crowd. It seemed as though everyone was doing their best to avoid him, as well they should be. At least they knew their place. But the mingling of so many people was making things quite difficult.

Shinrei halted on instinct as a man came flying passed him, promptly landing in the produce cart as he fell, triggering an avalanche and ultimate end of the world as various fruits came tumbling forth.

One, hell-bent on Shinrei's person, was intercepted by his hand. The assailant fruit held his attention for no more than ten seconds before he realized that this was becoming so very bothersome.

And that's when it happened. He felt the clash of pottery hitting skull, and nothing before. It had been a nice, thick piece of pottery too. The shock of what had just transpired sent Shinrei into a silent stupor. Had he just been nailed in the head by a sake jar? He wasn't sure. But a lump was already starting to form as he lifted a hand to the alcohol-infested wound.

One thought ran through his mind at that point.

Someone was going to have to die.

Very, _very_ painfully.

;-

Yuya gripped another sake jug, fully intending to throw it like she had done with the other, when she noticed that she hadn't hit her target the first time. _Shit! _She cursed herself in her mind, but didn't drop the 'I'm gonna eat somebody's soul' expression from her face.

The poor abused shopkeeper looked around in a very confused state; that is until his eyes fell upon Yuya. It's amazing how the threat of death can cure any problem you currently have with health. The man jumped up and took off before Yuya had the chance to see him. After all, she was to busy staring at the man she had just accidentally-on-purpose nailed in the skull with a jar full of alcohol.

Shinrei turned around slowly. It had taken a while for the full realization to take effect. But it had, and now he found himself locked in an awkward stare, disbelief etched across his face.

The woman in question blinked a couple times before reaching the same conclusion as he. "You!" She shouted, jabbing a hand towards him. Upon noticing that this was the same hand that had thrown that jar, and the same hand that held a brand spankin' new jug, Yuya immediately dropped everything and threw her hands up in a 'It wasn't me' gesture.

Things were becoming progressively more complicated. He wisely downplayed the death sentence till it fell around mid-torture. After all, killing the girl now meant challenging Ky-

His eyes widened.

Shiina Yuya was here. That meant Kyo was here as well.

Hotaru now forgotten, Shinrei calmly repaired his stoic exterior. Plans were about to be changed.

;-

**Continued**

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**(A/N)** Please review for us! Thank you.

**creepyhippieguy**


	2. Chapter 2

**Arguments**

**Author(s): creepyhippieguy**

Pairing: Shinrei/Yuya! Wooha!

_Italics: thoughts and emphasis._

**Disclaimer:** SDK ish not ours! Uwah!

**(A/N)** Arg! This over-extended silence was absolutely not my (foxmagic) fault! It was all mickey-sin and that damned computer of hers! It broke! With our story on it! So I had to rustle the chapter up from my email account, paragraph by paragraph. Feel sorry for me, nyah! Regardless, please enjoy this chapter! I'll do my best to update things on my own for the time being.

Thank you for the loverly reviews!

;-

**Chapter Two: Plans that go awry, and Kyo needs to pay attention**

;-

_Apologize Yuya apologize! _That is what her conscience told her to do. _Say sorry!_ Sorry is what she should've said. But sometimes what you should say and what you do say are two different things. And this was one of those times.

"What the hell are you doing getting in my line of fire!" She yelled while pointing a finger at him. She didn't know what made her yell at him. Maybe it was the anger due to a horrible day, maybe it was Kyo's attitude, maybe it was Shinrei's hairstyle... or stoic I'm-better-than-you expression. Who knew?

All that mattered was that she had said it. Now she was hoping that the man her finger was directed at wasn't easily offended.

Yeah, like she was that lucky.

_Right_. In the wake of a startling new discovery, Shinrei had almost forgotten her brazen attitude. But it was only a minor set back. He had kept his cool under worse circumstances. But damn...that yelling would send _anyone_ off the edge. He idly wondered how Kyo put up with the girl.

"So..." He began, fully intending on antagonizing her. "Kyo sent you out to do some errands, did he? How very obedient of you."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!" Yuya launched the sake bottle at him in hopes that she'd hit him again.

No such luck._ Damn him and his dodging!_ Some poor villager behind Shinrei had suffered the blow instead and dropped to the ground in pain and confusion.

"How can you talk to me about obedience, Mr. 'I must do what the Mibu commands'?" She looked around to find another bottle to throw. Finding that she had left them all inside, her hand reached for something better... her gun.

Outside, the man let off a pompous smirk. Inside, he imagined taking that gun from her hand and beating her over the head with it. The little welp; how dare she say those things! His fingers itched for his blades as the longing to teach her the Mibu's true power took over. But he resisted. Quite nobly, he might add.

A crowd was beginning to form now, and Shinrei knew that things would get ugly if he decided to cause a scene then and there. So he went for plan B...

Bait the sucker.

"You think that gun will harm me? I'd have you carved up before the bullet even reached my body."

"I'm more of a threat than you think!" Yuya said, doubting her own words as they left her mouth. _Against a Mibu, your nothing more than a flea, Yuya!_ She reminded herself angrily, but she wasn't about to roll over and take crap fromsome obsessed loser! "I can take you on any day!" Yuya spoke brave words, but in not such a brave tone. Her hand twitched slightly with worry that he might charge at any second.

"Hn." He crossed his arms. This was becoming quite fun.

A strange stir in the air alerted him to the proximity of a one Demon Eyes Kyo, abruptly jostling him from the woman's mindless banter. He ached to fight with him, but refused to go against orders. It was not yet the right time. Even so, an incentive would suffice...

"I won't fight with Kyo's weak little play thing." He snapped, wearing an expression only the Demon himself could rival. "Now if you excuse me."

Stepping over pots and cups, broken and shattered, he directed a cold glare at the villagers to ensure they kept out of this mess and out of his way.

"What? I am not Kyo's weak little plaything! I'm not Kyo's at all! Don't make me sound like property and don't walk away from me!" Yuya ran forward a little bit so he wouldn't leave the hearing range. Of course, with her voice, that wouldn't happen anytime soon.

"Hey get back here you jerk! I'm going to prove that I am not as useless as you think! I'll take you on, I'll- ah!" Yuya's speech was cut short when she trip on a piece of fruit and her face met the ground in a painful introduction.

Some of the villagers laughed when she jumped to her feet covered in fruit and vegetable juices from the produce cart she had throw the shopkeeper into. _Damn! There's a way to prove you're tough! Nice goin' Yuya!_ She had made a complete fool of herself.

And of course, Shinrei had not bothered to stop. He simply kept on walking, head held high, stepping daintily with little effort. Though Yuya really couldn't blame him, having that customary Mibu stick shoved up his ass and all.

Shinrei's Mibu pride of course was matched only by Yuya's feminine pride. So, fruit covered and embarrassed she continued to storm after him. "Hey you stupid, arrogant freak! I'm not through talking to you! You stop ignoring me and face me like a man!" She quickened her pace more to try to make up the space that had gotten between them during her fall. But every two steps of hers counted for one of his own. _That prick! _She thought bitterly, almost breaking into a run at this point.

Yuya chased him through thick and thin of the over-populated city. It wasn't until Shinrei rounded a corner did she finally lose sight of the blue fabric he wore. She finally found him not three seconds later, standing poised against the darkening sky. It had been his objective to exit that hell hole of a village. And now that it was nothing but wide open spaces, he drew his blades.

Yuya finally caught onto the fact that they were out of the crowd... that meant no witnesses. _Good goin' genius, just follow a murder out in the open. It didn't help that I insulted him; now he's pissed! _Thoughts were racing through her mind at unnatural speeds. Naturally, she did the only thing that had at least a one percent chance of working...

...Try to annoy the hell out of him until he gave up and left.

"Ha! Finally taking up my offer Mr. Tough Guy? Well it's about damn time you let me prove my worth. To bad there's no bounty on your head. That would make this all the better. Plus when I take you down, Kyo will see that I'm not worthless. A two for one deal. Hahaha, you sure have out done yourself this time, Shiina Yuya! Hahahaha!"

To bad her voice was giving away the fear behind those words.Even so, maybe it would work.

He hadn't responded right away, allowing time for the bounty huntress to sweat in anticipation.

"He's really something, isn't he? This Demon Eyes Kyo of yours..." Fiddling with his weapon, Shinrei seized the brief and stale silence that now passed between them. "So many want him dead, and yet he still feels confident. Even in such weak times. Has he fallen so low as to let a woman travel with him? He invites such burdens upon himself."

"I am not a burden!" Yuya shouted in protest and drew her gun, firing three shots. Of course, the aiming had been so out of control that Shinrei didn't even have to move to avoid being hit. _Great shooting! See what happens when you let people get the better of you!_ She chided herself, gun still pointed in the enemy's direction.

_What a...strange woman._ Shinrei was seriously contemplating backing away slowly. Where on earth did Kyo pick up these people? She had guts, he'd give her that much. But that was also making things far too easy.

He began to advance upon her slowly, drawing closer little by little. Each step sent shivers down Yuya's spine, but she would not back out now.

"Don't come any closer or I'll shoot... again!" Yuya warned, but he didn't stop. She looked back and forth and up and down to find a way to hit him where he'd least expected it. _Mibu, idiot! Mibu! They're always expecting it! _It was no use trying to use normal logic to take out one of _them_. They always expected normal logic, after all.

So as he got closer and closer, she decided to change things farther from the norm. The huntress took a step closer to him, gun still aimed, hoping it would throw him off... even for just a second.

Shinrei, of course, wore only a look of boredom as they advanced upon each other. It was only after the sound of shouting reached his ears that he stopped. Yuya, surprised by this alteration, haulted as well. She hadn't been able to catch the faint uprising of voices at first. But no more than three seconds later, one familiar voice inparticular caught her attention.

"God damn woman! What did she do to all the alcohol? Just wait until I find her..." Though the city was crowded and still some many feet away, those words carried like fire. And to Shinrei's dissatisfaction, it left a foul, stale echo upon the woods that surrounded them.

_That's Kyo's voice._ Yuya tilted her head towards the town to try to hear the others clearer.

"Kyo-han, calm down... I'm sure Yuya-han is sorry" _There's Benitora._

"Why don't we just buy more sake and start getting happy!" _There's Yukimura for ya._

"You're all idiots!" _Sasuke, of course. _

"That was mean!" Benitora sounded louder, which meant they were getting closer. Judging by the talking that was still going on, she knew Kyo was pissed. Beyond pissed in fact.

_Well it serves him right for sending me out with _**_my_**_ money to buy _**_his_**_ groceries!_

Shinrei was on the verge of taking off then and there, but his pride decided to rear its ugly head at the last second. He stood his ground, awaiting the arrival of Kyo's group and quickly formulating a new plan in his mind.

Kyo must have known they were there. When they finally appeared from behind the expanse of a thousand white walls, his red eyes immediately focused on the water-user. He. Was. Mad. And Yuya didn't think it was just about the rice wine.

"Hey, ugly. Got yourself a new boyfriend? Why don't you try to stay out of trouble for once. That way I don't have to rescue you all the damn time."

"I was handling things just fine before you came!" Yuya attempted to look like she could care less that Kyo had come to save her. It was by accident, but she was still being saved. Inside, she was grateful that Kyo had come before she dug herself even deeper into the hole that she created.

"Yuya-san!" Yukimura took one step towards her. "You do realize that he is a Mibu right?" He asked in a friendly reminder type of tone, smile and all.

"Yeah so?" Yuya glared at him.

"So, that means he could kill you in a blink of an eye, idiot!" Sasuke spoke up next, not meaning for it to be quite _that _rude, but she was being stupid so it didn't matter. Though he was talking to Yuya, his eyes never left the current enemy. If Shinrei even blinked wrong, Sasuke was ready to charge.

"I had it under control." Yuya argued again for the sake of her pride.

Kyo, successfully ignoring their banter, drew his sword. "Well then." He smirked in Shinrei's general direction. "You came to fight, right? Let's get this over with before dinner."

He played along. "Come at me then, Demon Eyes Kyo."

Shinrei had counted on Kyo taking the invitation. What he _hadn't_ counted on, however, was the sudden presence of Akira. Ice flew around him in an attack that was meant to be merely a distraction. And it did exactly that.

Kyo raised his muramasa, effectively cutting off Shinrei's escape as well as a good portion of his tunic. He raised his twin blades to counter-attack, but it was a miscalculated move.

Blood splattered across the grass, coloring the earth a peculiar red.

"Hn..." Kyo stared down at his enemy in a lazy fashion. "Why so weak today? That was too easy."

Shinrei gripped his side. He hadn't planned for this to happen. It was time to improvise. "Maybe I was to busy observing your weaknesses..." He spat out, nodding in Yuya's direction.

At that remark, Kyo's smile faded. "Planning something, smartass?"

"Maybe I am."

Shinrei's body faded before his very eyes, leaving a slightly irritated expression in its place. Kyo wasn't about to chase him, though. He had better things to do than play baby-sitter for a spoiled brat.

Benitora's shouts attracted his reluctant attention.

"K-Kyo-han!"

"What is it?" Looking over at his group, Kyo took into account their frantic faces. "Well...what is it?"

Sasuke came up behind him. "Nee-chan's gone."

"What?"

Sure enough, everyone was there except for her. Kyo absently wondered how he could have passed over the sudden silence that came with the girl's absence.

Akira returned from scouting the area, confirming to them what they already knew. Even her mild aura could be felt no longer.

"Could Shinrei have created an illusion to distract us? I wonder..." Yukimura said. "Maybe Yuya was his objective all along?"

Kyo cursed. He hadn't expected something like this.

;-

**Continued**

;-

**(A/N)** My oh my, what a perfectly elaborate plot designed conveniently to get _Shinrei and Yuya alone_.

Le gasp!

This will bring about much fun and entertainment.

**creepyhippieguy**


	3. Chapter 3

**Arguments**

Author(s): creepyhippieguy

Hey, foxmagic and mickey-sin here again! It's been…what, over two years? But we loved the reviews so much that we finally got our asses in gear and put together this uber long chapter to make up for it. Keep the Shinrei/Yuya goodness flowing, yo!

Disclaimer: We do not own!

;-

**Chapter Three: Helping the enemy racks up good karma points**

;-

Shinrei collapsed onto the ground. His bleeding was growing worse, the make-shift bandages doing little to ease his pain.

"He-hey... are you... okay?" Yuya was reluctant to ask, she didn't want to piss him off any more than he probably already was considering that they were now alone in some unknown part of the woods. _Of course he's not okay, you idiot! He just got his stomach sliced open! _Yuya was beginning to doubt her sanity with how much she was talking to herself.

She took a couple of steps forward, but didn't want to get too close. He was armed and dangerous. She could've pulled out her gun for protection and gotten closer, but she was far too kind to pull a weapon out on an injured person, even someone like him. Yuya silently cursed her ridiculous sense of duty to a man who had kidnapped her only moments ago.

"There's a lot of blood. Are you gonna be okay?" She asked that stupid question again and pointed out the obvious. Hell she was even annoying herself at this point, so she couldn't imagine how much he probably wanted to slap her right now.

"Tch...I've done worse." He gritted his teeth, propping himself up against a tree. At least he had gotten the girl. Though her actions towards his wounds were a bit confusing, he was confident she wouldn't flee. Not that he'd have any trouble capturing her again, even in his present condition.

And there was her conscious again, rearing its ugly head. "Still, it looks pretty bad... Do you want me to... bandage it for you?" She knew it would be 'helping the enemy' but she couldn't let him bleed to death.

"I'm fine." Shinrei responded curtly. While Yuya was perfectly okay with aiding him, he most certainly was not. It would be beneath him. He could take care of himself.

It took a good amount of time for him to regain his bearings, but eventually they were up and moving again. Staying in one spot would be too risky. Unheeded injuries aside, things were going pretty well in Shinrei's book. Sure, he had a gaping wound...but it could be worse. Maybe.

Possibly.

_This is all Hotaru's fault. I'll murder him! And then I'll ask Saisei to bring him back to life so I can kill him again!_ Blaming others always took away the sting of defeat. So he was content with cursing all his acquaintances to pass the time.

Yuya followed him step for step, not wanting to get lost. "I still think you should let me look at it." She insisted some more, but he simply ignored her. "You could bleed to death!"

"I'm fine." Was the only response she got.

Now she was getting a little frustrated. If he died she wouldn't have a way to get back and the sight of injuries made her heart clench. "What if you're not fine?" This time she ran ahead of him and stopped, turning to face him. "Don't -don't get me wrong! If you fall ill, then who's going to show me the way out of this god forsaken maze?"

He glared at her. And she glared right back.

"Look." Shinrei bit out. "I am your kidnapper. You'd be _lucky_ if I bled to death."

Grabbing a hold of her arm, he enforced the Kyo tactic of pull now, ask later. And though it seemed rather childish, dragging her flailing limbs through brush and pine was a hell of a lot easier than dealing with enemy pity. Of which he hated.

"Let go of me! I mean it you bastard, let go! Now!" She quickened her pace to get right up next to his ear. "Do you hear me you jerk? I said let. Go. NOW!" She yelled as loud as she could, which was enough to scare some birds out of the trees overhead.

Great. Not only was he bleeding, suffering the after affects of a cracked skull, and fighting off nausea, but now he was deaf. Deaf and very upset. Shinrei's grip on her arm tightened almost immediately. He might have been able to hear the wincing coming from his charge, but you know...the whole deaf thing.

Before Yuya could sputter out another 'Let me go, you bastard' she was being shoved face-first into the ground, tasting dirt and grass along the way. Shinrei loomed over her crouched figure, using the same arm to twist her into submission. Not too hard, but enough to let her know who was really in charge. Or at least enough to please his male ego.

"I may have been weakened, but know your place." His voice was raspy now, riddled with heavy breathing and laced in pain.

"Damn you!" Yuya tried to struggle, but every way she moved caused her pain. "Let go of me!"

After several more seconds of struggling, the silence finally began to creep her out. She was preparing another angry screech when Shinrei's grip suddenly grew lax. Yuya was faintly aware of a warm sensation running down her back. It was his blood, she knew. He was hurt worse than suspected. And now, as his body weighed heavily upon hers, she could smell the sour sickness that his body emitted.

It had reached the last straw when Shinrei's weak form at last fell over top of her own.

"See, I warned you didn't I?" She said the best she could with his full weight on top of her. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. So using her arms as best she could, she tried to push upwards to get his body to fall to either side of her. It took quite of bit of her moving around, but she finally managed to get him off. _Now to turn him over _she thought knowing damn well that it was easier said...err, thought, than done.

Picking up his arm, Yuya attempted to pull him off the ground enough to turn him. "Damn you, if you weren't... so... stubborn... this wouldn't... have... happened." Her words were forced out as she used all her strength. Of course, she knew he couldn't hear her, but she had to talk to keep herself from freaking out.

Figuring it would be an easier position to work with, she sat across him, and not seeing an easy opening in his tunic just ripped it where the slash was already at. _Damn, Kyo got him good. This would be easier if I actually had bandages. _She looked around and then down at his legs. _Well, hope you don't mind if I borrow some fabric._ Using one of his weapons to cut the fabric at the bottom of his outfit, she cut two sections -one to wrap and one to clean the wound.

Moving back to the wound, she noticed some blood had already dried around the outside. _Water, I need water to clean this. Ha-ha, this is funny. I was kidnapped by a water user and have no water._ She looked around, no river, no lake, not even a puddle.

Shinrei was out cold, so obviously she wasn't getting any help from _him_.

Yuya got up and looked around in every direction. _Which way, which way?_ She questioned herself. Moving to the left she answered her own question. She probably wouldn't find water, but she had to try.

After about ten minutes of walking she found that she had been wrong. There was a tiny stream not far from her current position. Not even ankle-length deep, but it was enough to get the fabric wet. Seeing that the bleeding hadn't stopped even a little she quickly got to work with cleaning and bandaging.

;-

With all that finally done, Yuya was finally able to relax. It wasn't a perfect bandage job, but it was enough for now. He would definitely need more care later on. She looked down at him, still sitting across his waist. He even looked like a stuck up prick in his sleep...

It was beginning to get dark now. As the sun disappeared, so did Yuya's hopes of returning to town anytime soon. And here she was, tending to the injuries of a sworn enemy! Kyo would never _ever_ find out about this. Damn her and her saintly duties.

Maybe it had something to do with being a woman.

Moving over to rest against a patch of particularly comfortable grass, she settled on waiting till morning. Even if he _was_ a prick, he was still a _dying_ prick. Yuya sighed and all other thoughts were washed away by sleep.

;-

It was cold. Very cold. Like freezing cold. She had no idea the temperature dropped this much, deep within the confines of a wooded plain as they were. Or maybe it was the simple fact that they had no blankets, barely any clothes, and a camp fire that didn't exist.

_Damn it's cold!_ Yuya had decided that today just wasn't a good day. Nothing was going her way -she could just scream. Maybe she should, she would feel a little better if it woke the jackass that kidnapped her up. Then she wouldn't be quite so lonely, quite so worried that he'd never wake up... but she would still be cold. Life was just that cruel.

Crawling over to Shinrei, she checked his breathing. If it stopped, then it would officially be the worst day of her bounty hunting life. She yawned and began to think about going back to sleep, but the cold that had woken her up was now keeping her up. _Well, maybe he wouldn't mind if I stole some of his body heat._ She thought, lying down next to him.

Too bad that he wasn't all that warm. He had been out in the cold as long as she had, and he had a slight lack of blood. So she turned and shifted until she was a couple of inches away from him and comfortable enough to fall asleep.

Things were going just fine for a while, Yuya making sure to occasionally check that the idiot was still alive, and Shinrei...well...okay, Shinrei wasn't doing anything. She made a mental note to remind him just _who_ the useless one was when he woke up. If he woke up. And though this 'cuddling for warmth' was purely her survival instincts kicking in, it still seemed so very _wrong_.

Yuya couldn't pin-point the exact time he began to grow warmer. But it was then that she was finally able to rest. She slept, and then night faded to day once more.

;-

When Yuya awoke at last, she blinked awkwardly upon the realization that she was a lot closer to Shinrei than she remembered. But she was warm. _At least he's still asleep._ She thanked the little strand of good luck that she finally got to have.

She got up and decided that if the 'useless moron', as she had started calling him, was still asleep, then she was going to clean up the blood that was all over her from the time he had fallen on her. So she headed back to the little stream form earlier and did her best to scoop up water, but it wasn't very deep so she was having a difficult time.

"The river gets deeper a little further down."

Yuya jumped, and almost fell forward, Even if she had she wouldn't have gotten all that wet.

"Oh so you're finally up you _useless moron_?" She asked.

Shinrei stood only a few feet from her, his frown deepening and a hand ghosting his fresh bandages. Ignoring her quite effectively, Shinrei turned to follow the river downstream.

"This way." He said.

"Eh... Okay." She stood and started to follow him. "Are you feeling any better?" She asked in hopes that she'd at least get a thank you out of him. After all, she loved to be praised, and she had struggled to get him all cleaned up.

He didn't answer her.

"I asked you a question." She stated walking up next to him.

"Do you expect me to be grateful to you? Is that what you're driving at?" Shinrei was faintly aware of her stare, now hard and cold upon his back. Yuya had faltered a bit at the bluntness, but nevertheless resumed her pestering soon after. She was a predictable woman, he decided. Both predictable and unpredictable in the worst kind of way.

Shinrei felt his shirt cling heavily to treated wounds. Guilt weighed down upon him, as he was an honorable man. But being helped by the enemy was _not_ honorable. And so he resumed silence once more.

He tuned Yuya out, noticing quite subtly that he needed a bath.

"Yes I expect you to be grateful! I could've let you die!" She noticed he was ignoring her and latched on to his arm hoping to stop him and to gain his attention back. "I'm talking to you, you, useless moron!" Maybe her new found nickname for him would get some kind of reaction.

"Well then maybe next time…" He yanked his arm out of her grasp, swinging his other appendage around to push the girl over the grassy bank. "you should let me die." Yuya tumbled into the water with a muffled 'eep!' The splash her body made indicated that they had gone quite a good ways from the source of the spring. Her head broke the surface, sputtering and coughing.

"See. I told you it was deeper further down."

"You bastard!" Not only was it deeper, but it was cold, beyond cold; it was freezing. She started to shiver, but didn't stop her scolding. "How dare you shove me, I should kill you right now. And you got my gun wet, and now I have no dry clothes, if I get sick I am going to hurt you! Damnit! And it's cold! I hate you!"

She stomped out of the water and pushed on his chest to try to shove him back, but it wasn't forceful enough to move him and then she went back to hugging herself to warm up. She was glaring daggers at Shinrei; if looks could kill, he would have suffered the most brutal death imaginable. And If he were the laughing type, he would be in stitches by now. But he was not. And so all he could muster was a sort of lop-sided half-assed smirk-smile evil glare thing, that Yuya found incredibly creepy.

She busied herself with the view, simmering down and wringing out her clothing. It seemed as though they had just exited the forest by the look of it. The former stream now branched out into a small lake just beyond the trees. They were in a clearing, surrounded by rock-built waterfalls and towering pinnacles of forested growth. That's when Yuya found herself suddenly being assaulted by a cloth of some sort. She grabbed the material from off her head in an angry manner, not caring what it was, but knowing it had to have come from _him_.

"What the hell is this?" She asked, already knowing of course that it was the blue tunic he wore. She held it away from her as if it were diseased while saying, "I hope you don't think I'm going to do your laundry." But the cold beat her pride and she wrapped it around herself not waiting for an answer to either question. If it wasn't his intention that she use it for warmth than he could go to hell.

"I don't need it." Shinrei began taking off the rest of his leg bindings. "I'll be washing the remaining blood from my clothes. I suggest you do the same. Why else would I have pushed you in?"

"To be a jerk." She answered simply. "And in case you didn't hear me the first time; it's cold! Are you trying to get me sick?" She hated to repeat herself, no really she did, but sometimes... okay, most times it couldn't be helped.

"I'd be so lucky." He scoffed. "If you hadn't made such a fuss, I wouldn't even be in this mess." Shinrei threw his bandages down in frustration. Then lifting his torn shirt over his head, he cast it into the growing pile carelessly.

"Stupid jerk." She decided to say one more time before going into battle with the horrible torture of the cold water. She unwrapped herself from his tunic, and since her clothes were already wet; _and there's no way I'm getting undressed in front of him,_ she started lowering herself into the water.

Glaring in Shinrei's direction she noticed the clothes were decreasing from his body and increasing on the ground. _He's not going to get naked is he? He can't possibly be thinking about..._ While staring, and blushing slightly from her thoughts, her hand slipped and that slow descent into the water turned into a fast fall.

When she managed to come back up for air, her vision found the man no where to be seen. Where had he disappeared to in such a short amount of time? His clothes were there...all except for the white pants which he still wore.

"Now where did he go? Hey! Useless moron, where are you!" She looked around in every direction and still didn't spot him.

Shinrei heard her calls, that was for sure. But answering them was another thing altogether. "Hmph…" He set to work on washing his clothes. The lake was indeed cold, but he didn't mind. What he _did _mind was sharing a space with the likes of _her_. She was a woman associated with their sworn enemy! Not to mention quite annoying. She called again, and he wondered how long it would take her to find him.

"Fine! If you don't wanna answer me then I'm leaving!" She shouted loud enough that she knew he'd hear her. Turning towards shore she started to swim back scrubbing herself off a little as she did. _If he wants to be a jerk then I don't have to put up with it! I can find my way back to town... maybe. _The worst that could happen is she would get lost and be eaten by a bear, but anything was better than staying with this asshole.

Fate hated her.

Noticing at once that something wasn't quite right over yonder on the banks of the lake, Yuya kept on treading forward to get a better look. Upon closer inspection, she realized that a cute little doggy had found its way to her pistol, and was presently chewing on it happily. Angry, she proceeded to relieve her mouth of all pent up curse words and frustration. It was then that the nice little doggy turned itself into the epitome of Satan himself.

Okay so it wasn't exactly a _bear_, but close enough. Besides, Yuya had decided long ago that fate hated her. Remember?

And she kept on believing this to be true, even as the nice-doggy-turned-evil began to chase her through the water. Maybe it was a wolf or something. Maybe he was hungry. Or maybe Shinrei was communicating with the animals in a perverted and strange attempt to get her back for that useless moron comment.

Hey, it could happen.

_Not good, not good!_ Yuya was frantic, scared, and sure she was going to die. Seeing the evil, hell spawned canine getting closer and closer and finding it harder and harder to swim... she had no choice. Pride be damned.

"Shinrei! I'm sorry for the useless moron comment. And I'm sorry for yelling in your ear, and... Arg! Just help me!"

The dog was only inches from her now; she ducked underwater and swam forward with all her speed. She swam and swam and swam some more, until at long last her efforts paid off with the sight of a familiar pair of feet in the distance. _Finally, there he is! _She couldn't hold her breath anymore anyways and surfaced. Since Shinrei was now close enough to keep her from screaming, but not close enough to escape her fear of death, she jumped at him and latched herself onto his body.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Just -help me!" She pleaded so fast that she couldn't even comprehend anything she had said besides _sorry _and _help_.

"Hey! Watch where you-" The poor man was unable to finish his sentence as Yuya's desperate grip caused his footing to slip, sending them both sprawling awkwardly into the water.

They were a flurry of limbs and rigid angles, the two of them now tangled amidst bruised body parts. Yuya rubbed her sore ankle, not caring one particular bit that her cushion counterpart was still under the water, blowing angry and defiant bubbles at her.

"Eh-Sorry!" She quickly jumped up letting him come up for air. As soon as his head was above water though, she grabbed a hold of his shoulders. "The-the dog! It's trying to eat me!"

And sure enough, the beast came around the corner, barking and carrying on as it went. Shinrei reached out to catch the scruff of its neck before it reached them.

"Idiotic woman…" He muttered, tossing the mangy mutt wherever it was convenient. It swam away with a yelp after taking quite a tumble among the rocks. Not that Shinrei cared. It was the dog's fault. Everything was the dog's fault! Their screwed up trip, Hotaru's absence, Kyo's attack, and...and...

Shinrei felt like hitting his head against something _hard_, and preferably _deadly_. Absently, he noticed that she was still rubbing her ankle. "You shouldn't have been running so fast, it's slippery on the rock bed." His voice was steady, eyes trained on her flushed figure. Shinrei stood up, holding a hand out to her while looking the other way. "Come on then. Let's see if we can build a fire before dark."

"O-okay." Yuya took his hand and walked with him back towards shore. She hated the fact that she was so clingy to her kidnapper. But hey, that demon dog was a life or death situation and you know how people get in life or death situations?

So she lost her mind; in a little while things would all be back to normal. He would go back to being a heartless, arrogant, Mibu obsessed jerk, and she would go back to being the prideful, I-can-do-it-myself, selfish woman she usually was...right?

"You were trying to run away, weren't you?" His smirk could barely be suppressed.

"N-no! Of course not!... okay, yes I was. But it was only because you were being such a..." She decided just to stop talking before she got herself in more trouble.

"I went to take care of my clothes when I first heard you screaming like a banshee. Did you honestly expect me to bathe in front of you?" His tone was condescending, but more out of necessity than anything else. He knew his place, and Yuya knew her place, and they were expected to act accordingly. This was how things went between people like them.

Shinrei helped her up the bank of the river.

"No." Yuya answered with a reddened face. "But you could've at least answered me."

"I could have." He added after much thought.

"Then why didn't you?"

"Because."

"That's such a childish answer!" Yuya was not going to get stuck in a 'because -because why' conversation.

"A childish answer for a childish question." Shinrei deposited his clothes on the ground, quickly scanning the area for any useable firewood. "More importantly, please tell me you are capable of starting a fire."

"What, you can't start one with your all knowing Mibu confidence?" She laced the words with sarcasm to let him know that she was angry for not getting an answer to her previous question.

Her only answer now was a bundle of logs being shoved in her face, which Yuya had only managed to catch out of sheer luck. "I'm going to go find more wood. I suggest you get started on that."

"Hey! Has it even occurred to you that I don't want to make you a stupid fire! I'm not your servant!" She knew Kyo would laugh at a comment like that and then tell her to do it or he'd kill her, but Shinrei wasn't Kyo. So maybe she would get a different reaction... like him doing it himself or something.

"If you're alright with freezing to death, then fine by me. I'm not the one wearing a soaked kimono."

Yuya glared at him for a few moments, realizing that he was right before throwing a log at him.

Too bad it fell just a few feet short of where he was standing.

She decided then and there that it was going to be a long night.

;-

**Continued**

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Please review! X3

**creepyhippieguy**


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